Trolley-conductor holder



Au 11, 1925. v 1,549,690

H. SCHUTTE TROLLEY CONDUCTOR HOLDER Filed Dec. 29, 1923 j ig. 1.

/ *ATTQRNEY Patented Aug. 11, 1925.

UNH'ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERMANN SCI-IUTTE, OF SWISSVALE, 'EEIFNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO 'SCHUT'IE' ELEC- TRIO COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

TROLLEY-GONIDUOTOR HOLDER.

Application filed. December 29, 1923. Serial No. 683,357.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HERMANN Sorru'r'rn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Swissvale, in the county of Allegheny and 5 State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Trolley-Conductor Holders,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in devices or cars for holding trolley conductors and particularly to the keys or wedges employed in such devices.

One object of my invention is to provide a simple, cheap and effective device of the above-indicated character which may be readily assembled and disassembled when desired, and hich, when in use, is securely locked.

It has been found that, where solid, or nearly solid keys are employed, they will, if driven home with too great force, break or crack the parts which they are employed to lock together and cause the holding device to become useless. One of the objects of 25 my invention is to provide a key of such form and construction that it will, upon the application of an excessive amount of force,

be distorted or made to slightly collapse, but

will not crack or break the clamping parts with which it is employed.

Another object ofmy invention is to provide a key which may be spread or enlarged at one end, so that it will not slip out of position and cause the parts to be disassembled.

Another object of my invention is to pro vide a holder in which the key will have a maximum stiffness for the amount of material employed, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

vide a key that may be cast in such shape as to beused without the necessity of machine work on it. In casting the key of my invention it is so formed in the mold that the beads due to molding will appear in the centers of the top and bottom portions and not at any point where thekey is frictionally engaged by the clamping members, when in use. 9- i In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a view, in side elevation, of my improved device for holding trolley conductors;

Another object of my invention is to pro- Fig. 2 is a plan view, partially in section taken along line Ill-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear end View of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved key; and

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the same.

Referring to the drawing, my improved trolley-conductor holder comprises a side or clamping member or shell '1, a supplein its sides so that its structure in cross section is of substantially I-shape. The top portions or flanges of the key 3 are provided with a series of serrations or notches 8, and the bottom portions or flanges are also provided with a series of serrations or notches 9, which practically correspond in location to the notches 8. i

The key is thus: of a general I-beam form, having a central web, an enlarged bottom flange and a still larger top flange or hearing portion. However, the cross-section of the top flange is such and is so designed relative to the adjacent parts of the clamping members 1 and 2- thatabnormal force exerted on the key, when driven home, will not cause the clamping members to break or even crack. On the contrary, the top flange will plied to the key 3 to withdraw it from the interlocking loops. After the clamp is placed in position on the trolley wire, it may be tightened driving the key ,for-

ward through the interlocking loops along the axis of the trolley conductor, so that the top and bottom portions of the key will exert pressure against the interlocking loops, spreading apart the corresponding portions of the clamping members and thus causing the lower lips thereof to bind against the trolley conductor. As previously stated, no breaking or cracking of the clamping members will occur when the key is driven home, by reason of the construction of the key itself. The shape of the key thus permits of maximum stiffness, but allows necessary yielding under the abnormal conditions set forth.

Another important object is the lockingin-position feature of the clamp under strain. This I attain by compelling the wedge to perform a compound motion in its function to clamp the wire. As shown in the drawings, the upper flanges of the wedge not only vary in width due to the serrated edges, but the wedge also varies correspondingly in height in such manner that, if the wedge is driven home by moving it in the direction of its axis, it is, atthe same time, compelled to make a motion downward at right angles to its axis and thus forced into the lower narrow portions of the loop members whereby the final clamping action for the closing of the gripping jaws against the wire is gained. Since the law determining the working loose of any wedge under strain caused by vibrations is governed by the tendency of the wedge to get away from the contact points of greatest pressure, it follows, that the tendency of the wedge in thisclamp is to get away from the lower, narrow portions of the loops and locate itself into the upper wider parts of the loops. As a result of this tendency, a very considerable amount of friction is caused between the upper flanges of the wedge and the corresponding parts of the loop .memhere. This friction serves to prevent the moving of the wedge in the direction of its axis and, therefore, is a means to bind or lock the wedge in posi-tionafter being driven home.

It is not always possible to secure castings of exactly the same size, and, when the in terlocking loops 4, 5, 6 and 7 are slightly larger than normal, the key 3 has a tendency to slip' out of place and cause the holder to be disassembled. In order to overcome this, I provide an elongated aperture 10 near the point 11 of the key 3 .in which a wedge or spreader (not shown may be inserted and twisted to cause the portions 12 and 18 to separate readily and thus prevent the key from sliding out of its position in the interlocking loops.

lVhile I have illustrated and described a specific form of my invention, it will be understood that modifications thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A key of substantial I-beam form in cross section and having notched flanges for use in trolley-conductor clamps.

A key for trolley-conductor clamps having grooves in its sides and being provided with notched flanges.

3. A key for trolley-conductor clamps having a pointed end and provided with a plurality of grooves and notched flanges.

i. A key for trolley-conductor clamps having a web portion, a rounded bottom portion and a larger rounded top portion, the bottom portion and the top portion being notched to hold the clamps in assembled position.

5. A key for trolley-conductor clamps having a pointed end and provided with a plurality of grooves and notched flanges and having an elongated aperture near said pointed end.

6. A trolley-conductor holder comprising two members having laterally projecting, interlocking loop members, a key having grooves in its sides and having serrations on its bottom and top portions adapted to engage said loop members and lock the same firmly together, and means to attach said holder to a support.

7. A trolley-conductor holder comprising two members having projecting, interlocking .loop members, a key provided with a plurality of grooves and having notched flanges adapted to hold the members to-' gether when assembled and to lock the members together when in operative position, and meansto attach said holder to a support.

8. A hanger for trolley conductors comprising means for its support, clamping members provided with loop portions for engaging the trolley conductor, and a wedge of I-beam form for wedging the clamping members against the conductor.

9. A hanger for trolley conductors, comprising means for its support, independent clamping members provided with interlocking loop portions for engaging the conductor, and a wedge of I-shape cross-section and having serrated flanges for engaging the loop portions and locking the clamping members firmly together against the con ductor.

10. A wedge-type trolley-conductor clamp comprising means for its support, independent clamping jaws provided with loop portions for engaging the conductor, and a wedge of I-shape cross-section having in dented and raised flanges for locking the clamping jaws securely against the con ductor.

11. A wedge-type trolley-conductor clamp, comprising means for its support, clamping the adjacent parts of said clamping members is prevented.

13. A wire-holding device comprising clamping" members having inwardly extending over-lapping loop portions and a wedge adapted to be inserted through said loop portions, said wedge being adapted to become slightly distorted if driven home with abnormal force, whereby cracking of the ad jacent parts of said clamping members is prevented.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 21st day of December 1923.

HERMANN SCHUTTE. 

